Men's Soccer Finishes as Soccer Six Co-Champs with 4-3 Win Over SJU

Wednesday, October 24

Vidas Field

6 p.m.

Drexel University

9-5-3

Saint Joseph's

8-6-2

Saint Joseph's

Drexel

Photo by: Ryan Samson

Men's Soccer Finishes as Soccer Six Co-Champs with 4-3 Win Over SJU

10/24/2018 8:49:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA – For the first time since 2010, the Drexel men's soccer team can claim a Philadelphia Soccer Six championship as the Dragons defeated Saint Joseph's in their regular season finale on Wednesday evening, 4-3. The Dragons overcame an early two-goal deficit, then fended off the Hawks late to wrap up an unbeaten non-conference schedule for the 2018 season.

Drexel (9-5-3) finished its regular season with a 6-0-2 mark outside of Colonial Athletic Association action. The Dragons earned four points in their two Soccer Six matches, combining Wednesday's win with a scoreless draw against Penn on Sept. 3. The Dragons finished tied with three-time defending league champion Villanova with those four points, leaving the two teams as co-champions for the 2018 season.

The high-scoring affair against the Hawks got started with a pair of goals by the visitors. Saint Joseph's earned a penalty kick 7:32 into the game, where the city's leading goal scorer Leon Maric netted his 10th of the season on the PK to put the Hawks up 1-0. Saint Joseph's kept up the pressure after that, and Ritchie Barry was the beneficiary with exactly 31:00 to play in the opening half when his shot was saved, but drew Drexel goalkeeper Cameron Sanders out of position. David Grana collected the rebound and chipped a pass over to Barry, who finished the second time around.

Down by two and seeing their city championship hopes slipping away, the Dragons answered quickly. Just 50 seconds after the Hawks' second goal, Joey Martini sent a ball across the box to a sprinting Neil Boyal, who beat Joseph Boehm to the far post to get Drexel on the board. It was Boyal's first collegiate goal.

The Boyal goal opened a 4-0 run for Drexel that spanned the rest of the first half. The next goal came from Laolu Daranijo, who sent a perfectly-struck rocket to the upper right corner of the goal from 30 yards out after gaining control of the ball near midfield. The game was tied just 6:30 after the Saint Joseph's goal which opened the Hawks' two-goal advantage.

Just 2:57 later, Drexel took the lead. Mathias Ebbesen, the team's leading scorer, netted his eighth of the year on a tight-angle shot from the left corner of the box, 18 yards out. It tucked just inside the far post to put Drexel on top 3-2.

Nearing halftime, the Dragons struck one more time. This time, Ebbesen was the set-up man, flicking a header across the goal mouth from right to left to Griffin Mallas near the back post. Mallas dealt with a high bounce on the pass, getting his leg on top of the ball and scoring from point blank range.

The goal gave Drexel four in a game for the first time since Sept. 22, 2012, when it defeated then-No. 11 Old Dominion at home, 4-1. It was the first time the Dragons had four goals in a single half since scoring four in the second half of a 4-1 win over George Mason on Oct. 6, 2010.

Saint Joseph's got one of the goals back in the 74th minute when Barry netted his second of the night on a loose ball in front of the net that he poked in from eight yards out. The Hawks controlled possession for much of the game's final 16 minutes, but could not get one past Sanders, who finished with four saves as the Dragons closed out the win.

Drexel will now await its fate in the CAA as the Dragons currently sit tied for sixth with seven league points. Several scenarios get the Dragons into the six-team field for the CAA Championships, but they will have to see how the rest of the league games play out as they have a final-week bye. Drexel must have Northeastern lose its final two games of the year. If that happens, Drexel can get in if the College of Charleston collects no more than two total points in its final two games. Should Charleston net exactly three points, the Dragons would also need Elon to win a game to create a tiebreaker that gets Drexel into the field. The final games of the CAA season are scheduled for next Tuesday, Oct. 30.